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Fitness instructor Scott Keppel shares why proper form and body alignment are so important when exercising.

Fitness Instructor Scott Keppel:
The reason body alignment in proper form is so important for an individual when training, is again, when you’re lifting weights, you are tearing muscle. So if you’re not properly aligned you could tear that muscle improperly or you’re going to place greater stress on the joints, on the ligaments.

One thing that I see many individuals do is when they squat, they’ll bend over at the waist, when they do a deadlift, which is another common exercise for individuals to do, they run out their spine. That’s placing more force on the spine already, and then you add whatever weight they’re doing, which could be 20 pounds to 100 pounds, and that’s just pulling on that spine and going to injure it.

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So what an individual wants to do is not only make sure that they have proper form, don’t jerk the weight. A good tempo is three to five seconds on the way up, three to five seconds on the way down. Breathing is extremely important. One thing I tell individuals is think of exhaling as you exert energy. So the hardest part of the movement, you should breathe out.

Another way to remember it is count rep. So, when we talk, we push air out. So as you would do a bicep curl and curl up, you say 1, 2, so you’re going to push that air out which is going to get oxygen to those muscles. You want to make sure you’re properly warmed up. Five to ten minutes is ideal, whether it’s jumping rope, on a treadmill, whatever, clear your head from the day. Get the blood flow to those muscles.

Think of those muscles and tendons and ligaments being like a rubber band. If you put a rubber band in a freezer and you take it out and pull it, it’s going to snap. That’s what a cold muscle is going to do. So we want to warm them up. Stretch throughout the workout and then stretch after the workout, particularly those areas that you just did.

About Fitness Instructor Scott Keppel:
Scott Keppel has been part of the fitness industry for over 14 years. Now the proud owner of Scott's Training Systems, Scott has taken his vision to the next level. He is keeping true to his philosophy of empowering every client, so they can achieve not only their fitness goals, but their personal and professional one’s in a safe and effective manner. STS has evolved from a one-time Trainer of the Year at Bally Total Fitness to his garage (taking 19 of 21 clients with him) to an 800 square foot studio and now two studios each over 1300 square feet and a following like no other. Scott is a well respected fitness instructor that has been featured in both national and local media and was the winning trainer for channel 3's weight loss challenge each of the 3 years it was held. He later created their first fitness challenge. He is a lifetime natural competitor who has trained dozens of clients for bodybuilding, figure, and fitness competitions, a number of which have placed in the top five and several who have won overalls! He is also certified in pre/post natal training and has trained many women to term.